Summary
In this paper we present a theoretical economic model, describing the influence of eschatological beliefs of executives on their socially responsible business conduct. The core hypothesis is that the belief that one’s eternal destination depends on how one behaves in business will provide an incentive to socially responsible business conduct. We confront the model with explorative empirical data, collected by in-depth interviews with and questionnaires among twenty Dutch executives. The data provide weak indications that eschatological beliefs influence the executives’ socially responsible business conduct.
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The authors would like to thank the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and the employers’ association VNO-NCW for their financial support. Thanks also to Boaz van Luijk and Aziza Yahia for their assistance in the collection of data used in this paper. We also thank the editor, professor M.M.G. Fase, and two anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions.
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Graafland, J., Mazereeuw-Van Der Duijn Schouten, C. The Heavenly Calculus and Socially Responsible Business Conduct: An Explorative Study among Executives. De Economist 155, 161–181 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-007-9053-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10645-007-9053-2
Keywords
- business ethics
- corporate social responsibility
- economics and religion
- executives
- socially responsible business conduct